Board-cutting machine



Dec.v 30, 1930. CABSMEIER BOARD CUTTING MACHINE 3 kSheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 6. 1929 INVENTOR C14/21. esN/E/E/E.

Dec. 30,? 1930.l c. ABSMEIER BOARD CUTTING MACHINE I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 6. 1929 INVENT "50 CARL HBsME/Efa.

Dec. 3o, 1930.

C. ABSMEIER 1,786,726

BOARD CUTTTNG' MACHTNE Filed Fen. e. 1929 3 sheets-sheer 5 l N V E N TO R CPI/QL BSME/EE.

ATTORN Patentedl Dec. 30, .1930

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PATENT OFFICE@ CARL ABSMEIER,OF MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS, ,.ASSIGNORTO UNITED STATES GYPSUM COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,y A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS n BOARD-CUTTING MACHINE Application led February 6, 19,29` Serial No. 337,748-

This invention relates to cutting devices and has reference more particularly to a cutting machine for cutting a moving and continuous sheet of material, such as gypsum board, into predetermined lengths.

Plasterboard is usually manufacturedon a continuous belt machine in which upper and lovver cover sheets are spaced apart` and bonded together by means of a cementitious core material such as gypsum. The gypsum is applied to the cover sheets in a plastic state and quickly sets to a hard materialfv'hich contains a considerable amount of moisture, and this moisture must be dried out by passing the gypsum board through adrying kiln. If the gypsum boards are cut/into rather small pieces before going through the drying kiln, the'pieces are apt to become overlapping on passing through the drying kiln and cause blockades with a consequent shut-down of the machinery. In order to avoid this condition it is desirable to cut off the gypsum boards completely in rather long lengths and between the ends` of said board, perforate same so that after passing through the drying kiln, thel boards niazvfhe easily broken apart manually to the finished lengths. l

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a cutting machine which is suitable for cutting boards into rather long lengths and for perforating the boards intermediate the ends thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cutting machine Where the knives are readily adjustable for perforating and also for cutting boards of different lengths; also to improve cutting machines inv lother respects hereinafter specified and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying dran-'ings forming apart of this' specification in which Fig. l is a side elevation of my improved cutting machine,

Fig.2 is a plan View of the cutting machine, l

Fig. 3 is a. sectional end elevation of the cutting machine, i

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation of one of the cutting devices,

Fig. 5 is a sectional View. on a large scale through one of the cutting knives,

F ig. 6 is a 'sectional elevation showing a plurality ofknives for cutting and perforating, and

F ig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation of a pair of the cutting knives in cutting position.

The plasterboard 10 is usually formed with a cementitious core material ll of gypsum having paper cover sheets l2 on each face thereof. rlhis plasterboard is formed from plastic gypsum material in a manne-r well known to the art, and passes in a continuous sheetalong a roller conveyor lil having rollers 14 for supporting the plasterboard duringits travel. The cutting machine of the present invention is designed to cut this continuous sheet of plasterin'iard into prodetermined lengths during the movement thereof, andto perforate theplasterboard at intermediate points so that it may be readilybroken up into smaller pieces after passing through the drying kiln. A power shaft 1G extends longitudinaliy of the roller conveyor 13 and is connected to other operating mechanism of the plastcrboard machine, being driven by any suitable source of power, such as a motor not shown. i

Y Mtv improved cutting machine may be driven b v any suitable gearing from said power shaft e. by a sprocket Wheel 17 iotatably mounted on said shaft and provided with a clutch 18 which may be used for disconnecting or connecting said sprocket ivhcel to the shaft 1G. A chain 19 leads from sprocket Wheel 1T to a sprocket 'ivhecl 2() secured to a shaft 2l, the latter being rotatably mounted in bearing lbracket Secured to thc shaft Q1 is a Worm, not shown, contained in a Worin housing Q3, the latter i also containing a -Worm ivheel Which is se cnredto a worm Wheel shaft 24. A sprocket vfhecl 25 is secured to the shaft Q4 and is connected by a chain 26 to a sprocket Wheel 2T which is .secured on a cutter shaft Q8. A cutter shaft 29 is positioned below the cutter shaft and said cutter shafts 28 and 29 are geared together by means of gears 30 and 31 respectively. n

The shafts 28 and 29 are rotatably mounti ed in bearing blocks 30d and 31d respectively, said blocks being adjustable verticall and being slidably mounted in any suitab e wa such as upon vertical guides or standar 32. Cross beams 33 are provided between standards 32 and in connection with the lower shaft 29 and an adjusting screw 34 passes through the beam 33 so as to adjust the vertical position of the bearing block 31d and shaft 29. The upper cross beam 33 may support a spring 36 which bears on the underside of bearing block 30d and holds said block in contact with the lower end of an adjusting screw37, the latter being adjustably supported in blocks 38 secured to the upper ends of standards 32. The lower ends of standard 32 are secured u on a suitable sliding base 40 which is sli ably supported upon sub-base 41. One end of the sliding base 40 is threaded to receive a screw 42, the latter being rotatably received in bearing 43 secured to the sub-base 41. The'outer end of screw 42 maybe provided with a bevel gear 44 meshing with a similar bevel gear on a' countershaft 45 and said shaft is provided with a sprocket wheel 46 connected chain 47 to a sprocket wheel 48 on a han -wheel shaft 49. A hand-wheel 50 is secured to the shaft 49 so that by turning said wheel, the entire base 40 and cutting mechanism may be adjusted longitudinally of the machine to any desired position.

One of the salient features of my invention lies in the cutting mechanism itself, which is so constructed as to also perforate the board at intervals as shown in Fi 6. Thus, as a continuous gypsum board s eet travels along the conveyor 13 it is engaged by cutting knives 52, 53 and 54 which are mounted to rotate with shaft 28, and similar cutting knives .are mounted to rotate with shaft 29 and are exactly synchronized with the knives on shaft 28. A pair of discs 56 is secured to the shaft 28 and the knife 52 is removably secured in a bracket 57x which is secured by bolts 58 to said discs. Bolts 59 pass through the bracket 57, the outer ends of said bolts being threaded to engage a tapped hole in a knife holder plate 61. The cutting knives are thus gripped between the jaws 62 and 63 formed on the bracket 57 and plates 61 respectively. bracket 57 has a; tapped hole adapted to adjustabl receive a special bolt 65, the end of said bolt engaging the inner edge of the cutting knife adjacent thereto. The bolt 65 has a head 67 for the application of a wrench in adjusting the position of the knife and is also provided with a lock nut 68 of usual construction for locking the bolt in any adjusted position.

The bracket 7 0v for supporting the cutting knife 53 is preferably U shaped as shown in Fig. 2, and is provided with radially extending arms 71 having a bearing 72 formed on the inner ends thereof adapted to rotatably engage the shaft 28. Lock bolts 73 pass through the discs 56 and engage the arms 71 so as to secure the knife 53 in aplurality of positions relative to knife 52, such as in the dot-and-dash position shown in Fig. 4. A

bracket 75 for supporting the knife 54 is adjustably secured to discs 56 by bolts 76 so that said knife may be entirelyremoved from the machine or may be bolted to said ldiscs in dot-and-dash A position as shown in Fig. 4 where the knife54 will not engage the .plasterboard during the rotation of discs 56.

Each of the knives 52, 53 and 54 is provided with saw vteeth 80 along the cutting edges thereof, said saw teeth being adapted to enter the paper cover sheets l2 of the plasterboard with a cutting effect so as to pierce the paper Without tearing same. The speed of rotation of thecutting knives is so ad- 'usted by the gearin that said cutting nives travel at a spee equal to that of the lasterboard along the roller conveyor 13. lincethe vertical position of shafts 28 and 29 is adjustable, the knives 52, 53 and 54 may be adjusted to either cut off, as shown in Fig. 7 or to only perforate, as shown in positions B and C of Fi 6. Thus, the continuous sheet of plaster oard may be cut off every 12 and perforated every 4 so as to make it oible for the operator to break the board in three separate 4 lengths after same has passed through the drying kiln. In keeping the pieces connected during their travel through the drying kiln, the danger of blocking the tunnel through the drying kiln is entirely overcome since the boards are much less apt to become jammed up. Any suitable conveyor may be provided to deliver me continuous plasterboard onto the roller conveyor 14, such as a chain conveyor 83 which is movably supported upon sprocket wheels 84 and 85.

In operation, the continuous sheet of plasterboard 10 moves along roller conveyor 13 between the cutting knives 52, 53 and 54, supported on shaft 28 and similar cutting knives supported upon shaft 29. The cutter knives 52, 53 4and 54 are adjusted at any desired radial distance from the center of rotation by means of adjusting screws 65 so that one of said knives, such as 52, may cut off the -board while the remaining knives 53 and 54 mesme `While the foregoing description sets forth n certain embodiment of my invention, I do not Wish to limit myself precisely to these details since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention es defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, IY

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a. cutting machine, means for advancing she .rotatably supported adjacent said sheet meteri ,-a. plurality' of cuttin knives sdjustably suported on said sha means fon adjusting t e position of one of said knives circumferentially with reference to a second e and means for zrotating said shaft so that said knives operate on said sheet material.

2. In a cutting machine, the combination with e. conveyor adapted to continuously advence a. stri of gypsum board, of cutti means rotatally mounted adjacent seid boar so as to cut said board-into predetermined lengths, and means for adjust' the position of said cuttin means longitudinally lof said strip of boa.

3. In a cuttin ed to continuous advance a continuous stri of sum boa a shaft rotatabl mounte adjacent theface of said board, a. pl' cutting knives secured to each shaft, mea'ns for permitting the movement of one of said ives into inoperative position, and means for rotating said shaft so that said board is cut inte predetermined lengths.

4. In a cutting machine, means for advanc ing a continuous strip of gypsum board baving peper cover sheets entitious core, n, shaft knives rotatably mounted neer each fece of seid board, one of said cutting knives on each machine,

of seid shafts be' adjusted to substantially lile another knife on the seveil the board same shaft is adjusted to only perforate the cover sheets thereof, yand means for tion.

o nnssmmn.

acontinuous strip of sheet material, a f

a conveyor adpturality of separated bye, eemcarrying cutting rotating f seid shaft and knives in synchronized rele.- 

